Every industry has its movers and shakers.
Men and women who, by virtue of their chutzpah and determination, built new companies, saved them from the brink of extinction, or forged new paths for others to follow.
To celebrate their creativity and bold innovation, we rounded up the business leaders who were major game-changers in tech, retail, entertainment, media, and finance this year.
Angela Ahrendts
CEO, Burberry (soon-to-be Retail Chief, Apple)
The CEO of Burberry will soon be leaving for the position of Retail Chief at Apple, but not before taking the luxury brand digital. Under Ahrendts' leadership, Burberry has built some incredibly tech-savvy retail stores where people can use their smartphones to learn more about a product.
On the brand side, Ahrendts, an American, turned Burberry from a label previously associated with stodgy outerwear to the biggest high-fashion brand in the U.K., worth an estimated $10.4 billion.
All eyes are on her as she steps into her new role at Apple in 2014. Rumors that she'll be next in line for the CEO position have already started circulating.
Dan Akerson
CEO, General Motors
Cadillac has heavily renovated and created new versions of its ATS, XTS, and CTS sedans over the past two years, and the effort shows.
In May of this year, Cadillac sold 13,808 cars in the U.S.— a 40% increase from the year before. It's the fastest the brand has grown in nearly 40 years, according to a GM executive.
Akerson is credited with taking the Cadillac from being "Seinfeld's dad's car" to a luxury car maker on par with the likes of Audi and BMW.
Jeff Bezos
CEO, Amazon
Amazon is growing at breakneck speed. The e-commerce giant, which was once a two-dimensional book selling website, now sells nearly everything under the sun. And that may soon include cell phones.
Word has gotten out that Amazon has been working with HTC on a series of smartphones, one of which is in "an advanced stage of development,"a source tells the Financial Times. It's a different — and bigger — beast from making and selling Kindles, as now Amazon will have the support of service carriers behind them.
Amazon did $17.1 billion in net sales in the third quarter, with a 19% increase in active users.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider